FDA issues highest-level recall for tomatoes linked to salmonella contamination
Affected tomatoes distributed in multiple southeastern states with no reported illnesses yet
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a Class 1 recall of tomatoes potentially contaminated with salmonella, the agency’s highest classification level.
Williams Farms Repack LLC’s recall of tomatoes in "4x5 2 layer, 60ct 2layer, 3ct trays in the Williams Farms Repack label" and "5x6 25lb, 6x6 25lb H&C Farms Label" received a Class 1 designation from the FDA last week.
Class 1 signals a "situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death," according to the agency’s website.
(Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
The classification came about a month after Williams Farms Repack issued the voluntary recall for the H&C Farms-supplied tomatoes.
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According to the recall notice, the tomatoes were sent to wholesalers and distributors in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina between April 23 and April 28.
The company issued the recall for the tomatoes on May 2. (Food and Drug Administration)
Consumers "are urged to not consume the products and return them to the place of purchase for a full refund, or they may discard the product," the FDA recall notice said.
Distribution of the recalled tomatoes occurred in three states. (Food and Drug Administration)
Williams Farms Repack was "notified via telephone" by a distributor that the tomatoes "may be contaminated with Salmonella" on April 29, prompting the company to launch the recall.
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The recall announcement said there hadn’t been any reports of people becoming sick from the products as of May 2.
Salmonella can bring on fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain in healthy people, according to the FDA. Such symptoms usually appear in 12 to 72 hours.
In young children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems, the bacteria can cause "serious and sometimes fatal infections."
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The bacteria is "one of the leading causes of food-borne illnesses" in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some 1.35 million people in America come down with salmonella infections each year.